Extract geospatial data from web products

[Emma Hain]

Hi All

I know this isn't directly associated with QGIS so I debated about putting this tool on here - but it is super useful. I used it this morning to help someone in the USA to extract data from a webmap - so I am convinced and thus am sharing it with you.

It's produced by MapScaping who are also supporters of FOSS4G and the greater geospatial community.

GeoHound extension for Chrome

Geo Hound automatically detects GIS services (WMS, WMTS, ESRI MapServer, etc.) as you browse the web, eliminating the tedious task of manually searching for and copying service URLs in developer tools.

Geo Hound

Key Features:

• Automatic Detection: Finds OGC and ESRI services in the background while you browse
• Organized Storage: Save services to customized folders for easy access
• Normalized URLs: Automatically formats URLs for direct use in QGIS, ArcGIS, and other tools
• One-Click Export: Copy services directly to your GIS applications
• Keyword search within the list of detected services
• The ability to disable service detection on certain urls

How It Works:

1. Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store
2. Browse websites that contain mapping services
3. Geo Hound automatically detects and logs services in the background
4. Click on the extension icon to see all detected services
5. Save important services to permanent storage in custom folders
6. Export services directly to your GIS applications

Geo Hound passively builds your catalog of services as you work. No more digging through network requests or copying complex URLs - Geo Hound handles it all automatically.

Kind regards

Em

Emma Hain — Product Manager/Senior GIS Analyst
em...@north-road.com

North Road Cartography • Development • Spatial Analysis north-road.com QGIS User Conference 2025 2-3 June, Norrköping, Sweden FOSS4G 2025 17-23 November, Auckland, New Zealand

[Andy Tice]

Hi Emma,

What a great tool. Are there any plans to port it to Edge? Some of us might have corporate requirements in place to only use that browser*.

In the meantime I can, of course use other applications in private...but if I needed to incorporate it into an approved work flow, having that would be great.

Cheers

Andy

*yes, I know...but dems da breaks

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "QGIS Australia User Group" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to australian-qgis-use...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/australian-qgis-user-group/CACGKw0ZfLS9zn01WHp4evN8U8xTW%3DoxkW3eNXtwtV3VQOEJBxw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Colin Mazengarb]

Hi Em,

I noticed this recently as well as was waiting till i had a chance to download Chrome before trialling it. I have a spreadsheet of about 70 urls for NZ councils and it is an ongoing battle to keep up to date. This will be a game changer.

It is my experience that those who make web maps do not appreciate there is a community of users who want web services as an alternative. Thus when they upgrade their servers to new addresses or deprecate some layers it would be great if they could at least provide some form of notification on their websites! That's my rant. Geo Hound should go along way to recovering links.

Cheers

Colin

--

[Emma Hain]

Oh I agree with all sentiments - before to find open data I would put in the following search terms: arcgis rest server 'theme' or 'organisation' - still a useful search!

Kind regards

Em

Emma Hain — Product Manager/Senior GIS Analyst
em...@north-road.com

North Road Cartography • Development • Spatial Analysis north-road.com QGIS User Conference 2025 2-3 June, Norrköping, Sweden FOSS4G 2025 17-23 November, Auckland, New Zealand

To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/australian-qgis-user-group/CALouvk-WeYnK_ozKJHVMy0E4CA5%2BEqt94pbsBHCHL8QoVeWGgQ%40mail.gmail.com.